Hunstanton RNLI crew practice vital mud rescue skills

Hunstanton’s lifeboat crew has been sharpening its skills when it comes to rescuing people trapped by mud.

Volunteers from the RNLI use the station’s ‘Hunstanton Flyer’ hovercraft to get to those who get stuck in The Wash because the nimble craft can fly across sand and mudbanks to reach them.

Rescuing someone who has become caught is a skilled and delicate procedure, as they need to avoid injuring the casualty or a crew member becoming stuck.

However, a rescue may also need to be carried out quickly if the tide is coming in to save someone from drowning, meaning practice is needed to make a ‘mud shout’ second nature.

Over the last couple of weekends, the Hunstanton crew has been doing just that, using a mannequin buried chest-deep on the beach near the station.

After carefully approaching the ‘casualty’ on the hovercraft, with the pilot positioning the craft as close as they can, the crew must first make the area around them safe to work by using mud mats, before assessing their injuries.

They then dig carefully down with shovels, before an air lance is used to free the casualty’s legs and feet.

The hover also carries a stretcher in the event it is needed to bring an injured person on board the craft, whose crew includes a trained casualty carer, before they are flown to safety.

Mike Gould, Hunstanton lifeboat operations manager, said the drills had gone well.

He said: “Mud or unstable surface rescue is one of the many training activities we perform at Hunstanton due to our unique coastline exposing miles of mud and soft ground when the tide is out.

“These areas are only accessible by hovercraft which is why we are one of only four RNLI stations equipped with one.”